Raynham Buddhist temple opens

Thursday

Jun 12, 2014 at 7:37 PMJun 12, 2014 at 11:41 PM

A sea of shaved heads attired in traditional burnt-orange outer robes, known among monks as jivorns, signaled the official opening of Raynham's massive Wat Nawamintararachutis Buddhist temple on Thursday.

Charles Winokoor Taunton Gazette Staff Reporter @cwinokoor

RAYNHAM — A sea of shaved heads attired in traditional burnt-orange outer robes, known among monks as jivorns, signaled the official opening of Raynham’s massive Wat Nawamintararachutis Buddhist temple on Thursday.

The more than 300 male devotees of Theravada Buddhism came from various countries and United States to mark the opening of the $60 million, 119,000-square-foot structure at 382 South St. East.

The group, which has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, also held its annual meeting.

It took six years from design to construction to build the rectangular structure — with its Great Hall, meditation center, dormitory and multi-purpose meeting area — according to Eang Tan.

“It’s amazing — perfect, a fully functioning temple,” said Tan, a Thai national who lives with his family in Quincy and works for Analog Devices Inc.

Tan was one of a select few from the group who worked with Architectural Resources Cambridge in formulating a conceptual design and attaining building and other permits from the state and town.

He said a total of 15 monks will eventually reside at the sprawling facility, which sits adjacent to a section of the Taunton River.

The first version of Wat Nawamintararachutis was established in 2002 in a Brighton apartment by Theravada Buddhists belonging to the Mahanikaya sect, in honor of Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Now 86, Adulyadej was born in Cambridge and is the longest reigning King of Thailand, having served since 1946. He also has been recognized by Forbes as one of the richest men in the world.

The Bay State Buddhist group bought the 50-acre property on South Street East in 2006 as an eventual replacement for a Watertown cottage that had served as an impromptu temple and meeting place.

The structure is a 60-foot-high building set back from the street with a distinctive, golden steeple towering 185 feet into the sky and 240 parking spaces to accommodate visitors.

The Raynham structure is the largest Buddhist temple in the world outside of Thailand.

“This represents the heart of the Thai people,” said Dr. Natthapat Saisena, who also served on the construction committee for the temple and meditation center.

Saisena stressed that the temple is open to visitors of any religious or spiritual doctrine. He suggested, however, calling ahead of time to arrange a visit.

Thursday’s event was the first of three days of activities at the newly completed site.

Religious ceremonies, including chanting, will be held Saturday. A large grand opening with tour will take place Sunday starting at 2 p.m. Also expected to attend that day are Thailand’s ambassador and state Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton.

Richard Schiavo, chair of Raynham’s Board of Selectmen and a member of the town’s board of health, presented a letter of recognition on behalf of the people and government of Raynham.

He in turn was given a “token of appreciation” from a temple official in the form of a miniature, plastic mock-up of the new building.

Schiavo lauded the Buddhist group for its focus on “passion, tolerance and welcoming spirit,” the latter of which he said “reaches to the limit of the sky.”

Although Buddhist monks lead a celibate and fairly ascetic lifestyle, they are not totally immune to modern day devices and conveniences — as evidenced by the fact that more than a few of them Thursday could be seen snapping photos with smartphones.

Prayad, 51, said he traveled from Seattle to take part in this week’s grand opening events and ceremonies.

The annual meeting, he said, is an opportunity to “discuss problems” in the world, and particularly in Thailand.

Despite the fact Thailand’s military seized power in a coup in May, and not withstanding continued Islamic insurgency in southern provinces, Prayad said the country remains stable and attractive to tourists.

“We Asian people think it’s normal,” he said. “It’s not like in the Middle East in Egypt and other countries where people get killed.”